Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)

The K.U.Leuven has a rich tradition of learning for almost six centuries. It carries out research in all academic disciplines and is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). K.U.Leuven is ranked 6th European university in the 2008 Leiden bibliometric ranking and 4th in the FP6. So far, K.U.Leuven obtained 160 FP7 projects for a total budget of about 70 million euro (2007-2009). K.U.Leuven produced 530 PhD degrees in  2007-2008 (of which 151 for foreign PhD students) and over 10,800 international peer-reviewed publications in 2005- 2007. More than 80 spin-offs were created and the total patent portfolio comprises around 280 patent families. The annual research expenditures in 2008 were around 296.7 million euro; scientific staff counts over 5,100 researchers. The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences carries out research with respect to the functioning of geo- and ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales, including the interaction between humans and the environment and the sustainable management of natural resources. As part of this departement, the Division Forest, Nature and Landscape aims at coupling research on forestry, nature conservation and landscape planning with community ecology, earth observation, spatial data sciences, the statistical modelling environment, and decision support tools.

More information: www.kuleuven.be